Free Alexei (Her Russian Protector #8) by Roxie Rivera Page B

front of her held a baseball bat up to her cheek.
    Beat. Hurt. Kill.
    His brain stopped forming complete thoughts. The primal male instincts to protect and defend overwhelmed him. He was out of his SUV before it had even come to a full stop. Hell bent on destruction, he stormed across the pavement and headed right for that stupid bastard with the baseball bat. The other man was taller by an inch or two and well-built but he seemed startled to see someone rushing him.
    Jaw clenched, neck tight and scowling, Alexei titled his forward and slammed his forehead into the man’s nose. The man cried out in pain but Alexei wasn’t done yet. Ignoring the ache spreading through his own head, he wrenched free the bat and cracked the man across the stomach before landing another blow to his ribs. The man dropped to the pavement in a bloody, gasping heap.
    Armed and dangerous, Alexei turned his attention on the next closest target. One well-aimed strike to the ribs and a blow to the front of that one’s knees sent him down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the third man shake free from his stupor and run. Alexei let him go before turning his attention to the man standing behind Shay.
    This close, he could finally see why the man was standing there. He had tied Shay’s elbows and wrists together in a brutal knot that contorted her slim shoulders into an unnatural and painful position and then had looped a length of the rope around her neck. The fucker held onto the other end and pulled it tight like a leash. Blood trickled from Shay’s nose and soaked into the piece of cloth—a man’s handkerchief—that had been shoved into her mouth to gag her.
    Growling with fury, he unleashed hell on that bastard. A blow to the shoulder sent the man stumbling to the side. Alexei followed him as he staggered away from Shay and then cracked him across the chest with the bat. The man had tried to block the blow but succeeded only in breaking his hand. It took another two hits, one to his knees and one to the middle of his back to drop him for good.
    Panting for air and high on adrenaline, Alexei whirled around to search for the fourth man. He was taken aback to see Boychenko striding toward him with the other man at gunpoint. Hands in the air, the man marched forward as if heading toward the gallows. For a moment, Alexei considered taking the bat to him but then he decided Shay had seen enough violence tonight.
    Turning back toward Shay, his heart beat erratically as he watched her shoulders shake with silenced sobs. He crossed the distance between them and crouched down in front of her. Headlight beams illuminated her beautiful face. She gazed up at him with wet lashes and leaned into his touch when he cupped her cheek. That simple movement of seeking his warmth and reassurance threatened to break him.
    Very carefully, he pulled the gag from her mouth and tossed it aside. He didn’t bother trying to undo the knots in the rope. He pulled a small but razor sharp knife from his pocket and used it to cut her free. When the knife was safely back in his pocket, he shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it around her bare shoulders.
    “Are you hurt? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?” He looked her over as quickly as possible but it was difficult to tell in the dark. She shook her head, and he decided to wait until he got her some place safe to check her more closely. He quickly gathered her small body in his arms, cradling her close to his chest, and carried her to the front seat of his idling SUV. He fastened her seatbelt and turned up the heater before closing the door and returning to Boychenko.
    “You need to get out of here, Alexei. Now ,” the kid added forcefully. “You don’t want to be here if the police show up.”
    Nodding, Alexei gathered up Shay’s things. Her jacket was ruined with the blood splatter from the beatings he had given those men. He grabbed the bat, rope and handkerchief because he didn’t want to leave